ARES Leadership Changes

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1 Volume 07 Number 10 October 2005 Wisconsin ARRL/ARES Section Emergency Coordinator and EC Newsletter Editor RACES Chief Radio Officer Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO W8088 Hillcrest Court Hortonville, WI (Mobile) The WEC Newsletter is published monthly in.pdf f ormat to the Wisconsin ARES/RACES Web site It is intended to provide a forum for ECs to share ideas concerning the organization and training of their respective groups, and as a source of news concerning Wisconsin ARES and RACES. Comments, suggestions and articles (finished or in rough form) are solicited from the readers. Deadlines : The newsletter is published between the 15th and the 31st of the month preceding the date shown on the issue. Thus, the February issue is published in late January. Articles and notices should reach the editor no later than January 1 to be considered for the February issue. Permission is granted to reprint articles from this newsletter provided credit is given as follows: "Reprinted from the Wisconsin Emergency Coordinat or Newsletter, Bill Niemuth, Edit or". ARES Leadership Changes By Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO, SEC WI Bill Becks, WA8WG, has stepped down as Northeast Wisconsin DEC to concentrate on his Marinette County EC duties. Bill will still continue to be involved in statewide ARES/RACES, but in a more technical role. I personally thank Bill for his willingness to step forward into the position when we needed help. Replacing Bill is Rick Abbott, WX9M, who is also Portage County EC. Rick is an active EC who has a proven track record. Rick and Bill have completed the transition and Rick is off and running. I am happy to have Rick as the newest member of the senior leadership team! We will be searching for Rick s replacement as EC. Wright Stuff Century Public Service Event By Don Michalski, W9IXG, WI ARRL SM A group of Southwest District ham radio operators assisted with communications for this biking event. Over 650 cyclists participated. The communications provided helped make this a successful event. The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 1

2 Door County Unveils New Mobile Communications Center By Ken Meyer, K9KJM, EC Door County Editors Note: Ken Meyer provided the following photos of the new Door County vehicle. A large bequest helped Door County purchase this vehicle. Pretty impressive! Let There Be Light! By Dave Kaun, N9KMY, EC St. Croix County Editor s Note: Dave shared this with a number of folks. The reference to Menards does not constitute an endorsement, but is for informational purposes only. For general information you may want to stop at Menards and take a look at new light they have that is on sale through Saturday for $7.99. If any of you remember the portable LED light I used at field day, this is much the same only it is called an LED under-counter light. Generally, it is sold as a three pack with a transformer for $28.99 but you can also get single lights for $8 bucks. There are nine high output LEDs in a holder shaped like a small hockey puck and a 14" lead that can be connected directly to a 12VDC source. It puts out a considerable amount of light for its size and minimal current draw of 30 ma. What is even more interesting is The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 2

3 that is has a bridge rectifier so polarity of the connection is not an issue. This would make a great back up power light to operate off your battery system. It even comes with two mounting screws. Here is what the 3-pack looks like: WI ARES/RACES Steps Up For Hurricane Katrina Support By Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO, SEC WI In early September, WI ARES/RACES put out the call for operators to assist with communications support of the Hurricane Katrina response and recovery effort. Because of the rapidly changing situation, the teams planning to deploy to Louisiana were asked to stand down. Two WI ARES/RACES members ended up deploying anyway. Columbia County EC Wayne Burgess, W9YYZ, and Washington County EC Larry Puza, WB9BVB, deployed and spent time in the Gulf Coast assisting with communications. Further reports will be upcoming, but thanks to these folks who contributed their time and skills to help with this devastating situation. As of this writing, another team is preparing to deploy as the need for communications support continues. Category 3 Hurricane Rita did major damage to the west of the Hurricane Rita and the entire Gulf Coast region is reeling from these storms. WI ARES/RACES Winlink 2000 White Paper By Jim Darrow, KB9MMC, Digital Communications Coordinator Editors Note: In February 2005, Jim was asked to draft a white paper for Winlink Although this is still in draft form, I felt it important to include this so everyone is up-to-date on the technology. Numerous WI ARES/RACES groups are beginning to use the technology. Executive Summary Wisconsin ARES/RACES Winlink 2000 Task Force Report WinLink 2000 (WL2K) is a hybrid system that enables amateur radio RF paths to bridge across a failed portion of the Internet. The current system provides capabilities of message delivery not easily done via RF-only amateur radio paths and is the most practical way to provide our served agencies with an easy to use interface for their staff to route traffic to distant points. All WL2K software is free for amateur use. Winlink Equipment Requirements WL2K consists of server and client parts, most of which operate under the Microsoft Windows environment. The system can route messages via VHF/UHF packet radio, typically at 1200 or 9600 The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 3

4 baud, HF PacTOR II and III, or the new SCAMP protocol. New technology modes can also be used such as the ICOM D-Star microwave transceivers, WiFi, and the coming higher-powered WiMax systems. Client Portion Connections are made to the system with a supported digital mode. For typical VHF/UHF packet radio connections, either PacLink AGW / Post Office or AirMail are programs would be used. PacLink AGW / Post Office uses a standard program, e.g., Microsoft Outlook Express, as the interface point, through an individual computer, or can act as a server for the served agency when connected to that agency s LAN. It then uses the AGWPE (AGW Packet Engine) program to drive either a TNC operating in KISS mode, or a sound card. AirMail is an alternative product that will also operate with older MS Windows 98 software and provides its own interface. It cannot connect to a LAN and is used in stand-alone computers. AirMail has two additional features, which allow it to act as a peer-to-peer hub between VHF/UHF stations, and it is used as the interface to HF equipment using the SCS II modem. Unfortunately, AirMail supports only a limited number of TNC models. Telpac (TELnet PACket bridge) is a simple interface between amateur radio RF data and the Internet and is the main bridge between the client side to the server side when using VHF/UHF. Server Portion The client software operating through an appropriate digital mode connects to a PMBO (Participating Mail Box Office). Once the data enters the PMBO, it is routed locally or to one of eight mirrored CMS s (Central Message Server s) that stores the necessary routing data and permits an address with extension. This allows to be properly routed worldwide to any location that has an operating portion of the Internet. Detailed information on WL2K can be found at Deployment There is a great deal of flexibility with the WL2K system and different parts of our Section will need to determine what is best for their location and their neighboring counties. Most standalone digital stations might want to consider using AirMail due to the ability to use older versions of MS Windows, and the ability to connect with other VHF/UHF stations on an RF peer-to-peer basis if the internet connection should be lost. When a served agency wants to have the ability to send when their Internet connection or server is inoperative, the use of Paclink AGW/Post Office will allow the sending of messages to a distant Telpac Node. If a Telpac Node s Internet connection fails, you can still keep the system operational by digipeating to another TelPac Node that does have Internet connectivity. It is strongly recommended that many Telpacs be set up throughout the state. When longer distances are needed, HF with PacTOR II and III can be used to bridge the distance. In the near future, Paclink SCD, which uses the SCAMP (Sound Card Amateur Message Protocol) mode may prove to work well and eliminate some of the need for the SCS PacTOR II and III modems. The SCAMP mode is free but requires at least a 1 GHz computer processor running Windows 2000 or XP. Based on the ARRL proposed NTS/NTSD restructuring, WL2K will be a concurrent system that is an alternate path for almost all messaging between served agencies and amateur radio. If this system was employed to the The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 4

5 extent suggested in the proposed restructuring, it will require some reallocation of resources. Other groups that have been testing WL2K have found a noticeable shift in message traffic toward WL2K.. Other comments It is very unlikely the entire Internet can fail. In practical terms it means you can have unlimited Telpacs and Paclink and AirMail clients feeding traffic in to the system. With more input from ARRL, it may be possible that some of WK2K current limitations can be overcome. The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 5

6 Wisconsin ARES/RACES Seventh Annual Leadership Conference Saturday, October 29, 2005, 10:00 a.m. 3:30 p.m. Dale s Weston Lanes, 5902 Schofield Ave - Weston, WI Weston is in Marathon County, just southeast of Wausau Talk-in Please join us for the seventh annual ARES/RACES Leadership Conference! This year s conference is open to all ARES/RACES Leadership, including ECs, AECs and other interested parties. In addition, we are extending the invitation to EMs, NWS and private disaster relief personnel. Weston was selected because of its central location. Lunch will be a buffet served at noon. Cost for the conference is $10.00, which includes the meal, tip and beverage. You do not need to prepay. Payment will be collected at the conference. Your registration is required, however. It needs to be received by October 22, Please complete the registration form online at or on the attached. A registration should be completed for each attendee, including nonares/races personnel. This conference will be different from the 2004 Conference. We will get back to basics and provide time for more discussion. Executive and senior leadership wants to hear from the leadership to determine what needs to be done to make the organization stronger. It is important you attend this conference with an open mind and learn as much as possible. We will also have the opportunity for networking, which is extremely important. Take the opportunity to talk with someone you don t know and learn from each other. Tomorrow, you may be reliant upon them for emergency communications support. Please invite your County Emergency Management Coordinator or your Red Cross or Salvation Army s Director to this year s Conference. It will be well worthwhile and give you the opportunity to display the strength of Wisconsin ARES/RACES! See you there! SEC Bill Niemuth, KB9ENO: bniemuth@new.rr.com The Wisconsin EC Newsletter 6

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